Macross Frontier, episodes 10-15.
Episode 11
--Oh, man, I hope it doesn't turn out that Cathy secretly wanted to be a pop idol rather than a military officer all along or something dumb like that.
--You know, from the front Ranka's hair looks uninteresting, but from the back it's such a cute style.
--Wow, Alto managed to go ten episodes without revealing that he has a big brother?
--Oh, so not his real brother--I should have figured since they aren't anime-identical.
--We sure get to see Sheryl in her underwear a lot. Not that I'm complaining.
--I am, however, complaining about how dumb she's being this episode. Take your damned medicine!
--Am I imagining things or can you actually see the outline of nipple on Klan's flight suit? That's just ridiculous.
--Why does Cathy have to be naked for the serious discussion of Zentraedi military politics?
--Good lord, Sheryl actually does say that her chest gives people "hopes and dreams."
--Ugh, Alto being pulled between three choices like this...the whole thing pings me in my uncomfortable places. Possibly because they wouldn't be quite such bad choices if he'd actually talk to the people involved, which is a major squick point to me (big plot problems that can be averted just by talking about them openly). But actually, they'd still be pretty bad in this case.
--Heh. The implication that it was hardly a difficult choice for him at all is kind of a nice twist, though.
--Sadly, Sheryl, this is so not about how Alto feels about you. Which I guess is the sad part, that both Sheryl and Ranka are going to interpret it as being all about his Choice Between The Girls, when really it's just about the sky.
--It's embarrassing how easily I am moved to "awww" by scenes of random cute animals.
--The new ED is cuter than it should be.
Episode 12
--Oh, no, not an Omniscient Council of Vagueness.
--Okay, they're rebel Zentraedi, but apparently they know something about the overall plot?
--Oh, duh, that's why there are Japanese subtitles as well as English ones...they're actually speaking Zentran or whatever. Hee.
--Nanase's Ranka/Alto/Sheryl bento box is kind of amazing.
--So Sheryl being sick is Part Of The Plan?
--The cute little creature will probably turn out to be a baby Vajra.
--Aw, Ranka actually is doing something! At great personal risk, too. This makes me happy.
--Alto/Ranka just got a lot more appealing--although I still don't have much interest in any of the main pairings aside from thinking all three could be kind of cute.
--So the whole show is all about rejecting the "destiny" of your "born nature" and instead pursuing your true hopes and dreams? With a side of "this is how opposing peoples can coexist" (as I take it has been the overarching theme of Macross and its SINGING HEALS EVERYTHING from the start)? How...kawaii.
--I see Sheryl is going to have some angst over this.
--Hmm. I wonder if Sheryl is finally admitting to herself just how far her feelings for Alto run? In any case, I'm glad that Alto's choice to go with Sheryl last episode wasn't milked to provide episodes and episodes of sitcom angst. I'm very glad.
Episode 13
--From the glimpses I've taken at TVTropes, this is apparently a crazy badass episode. I just hope you don't need to know too much about the previous Macross shows to appreciate it...the whole "first-generation Macross" thing makes it seem like that could be the case.
--I also know that this is the episode where Grace's eeeevil is revealed. I think? I'm kind of anxious because I really want to see how she pans out as a villainous mastermind.
--Hmm. Sounds like Ranka is more aware than she usually lets on that there's something screwed-up in her past.
--I'm not sure how I feel about Alto going along with the "let's hide Ranka's past trauma from her to protect her" brigade, but it's not like going against the people who've been protecting her emotionally all this time would be an easy decision to make.
--I had a feeling there was something suspicious about those pills. Unless whatever Michel just found is unrelated to the ones Grace was foisting on Sheryl.
--Oh, come on, Ranka needs to be rescued even when she goes to the bathroom?
--Whoa, Grace has implants to make her physically badass as well? I approve.
--That's certainly a convenient place for there to be a picture of Ranka and her family.
--Whenever I get spoiled, I wonder if I'd have figured it out anyway. As it stands, they're laying on the "Brera is actually Ranka's brother" pretty thick, but I don't know how I would have reacted if I didn't already know.
--Uh. How did Ranka wind up in the middle of a Vajra nest?
--Ranka's seiyuu must have torn her throat raw from all the screaming she had to do for the role.
--Well, that was pretty random.
--Taking a break from the nonstop RISING VAJRA ACTION!!! here to ponder the romance. It's interesting that while Alto shows signs of very faintly budding romantic interest around both girls--blushing, awkwardness, tsundere behavior--he seems utterly oblivious to its actual implications and actually rather impatient with them. He doesn't read as completely asexual to me, but he does read as deeply uninterested in the conventional trappings of romance. Sheryl and Ranka, on the other hand, are very much interested in those things (in Sheryl's case, almost more than the actual feelings themselves, but she clearly has those feelings, she's just not too sure what to do with them or how to acknowledge them yet): dates, presents, rivalries with other girls. The way it comes off is that while both girls are clearly interested in Alto for himself, for the way he treats them, their actual pursuit of him is more about each other.
--Back to the action--did Brera just tell Alto that he's "unfit to be near that girl"? Isn't Michel the one with the proper seiyuu for that?
--Grace has tentacle arms? I think I'm in love.
--Hell of a thing to fade to the cutesy old ED on.
Episode 14
--They change the ED often enough; when are we going to get a new OP?
--Bobby continues to be adorable.
--It seems like everybody in this show is crushing on/fighting with romantic entanglements with someone. Sheryl and Ranka on Alto, Luca on Nanase, Michel and Klan with each other, Bobby on Ozma, Ozma and Cathy with each other in an awkward kind of way, whatever Cathy and Leon's actual feelings for each other are, Monica on Captain Wilder...am I missing any so far?
--I'm a little confused on whether or not Alto thinks Ranka is already dead; with his "wait for me, Ranka" is he saying that he's going to die fighting to protect Frontier? Or that he knows she's still alive underground somewhere and he'll come back to get her as soon as possible? The latter seems most likely, but it's a little weird that he'd so easily assume she's still alive even though a huge chunk got carved out of the planet.
--Huh, some actual consequences from using an unproven technology in a dangerous situation? That's nice to see.
--It's a little disappointing to see Sheryl failing and needing to be protected, but it is realistic, admittedly.
--Sparkly naked people in space!
--Oh, I see. Ranka is actually in one of the Vajra motherships.
--Ah, and Alto knows it, okay.
--So Ranka now apparently understands that Vajra Are People Too? The angel-like figures that appeared to her singing the song, possibly? I figured the song was secretly some kind of Vajra thing, but.
--Well, that at least explains where Brera's loyalties are supposed to lie. Not so much what the hell he's actually doing, though.
Episode 15
--Are we supposed to know who it is that Grace is talking to? Because I have no clue.
--Oh no! Her implants have made her freakishly nipple-less!
--Oh, okay, she's fucking around with a Vajra hive mind somehow. I vaguely recall that from spoilers I read (just like I remembered something about Ranka being the "Little Queen"), but not the details.
--It's weird how Alto alternates between treating Sheryl and Ranka as romantic prospects and as sister figures (little-sister in Ranka's case, big-sister in Sheryl's case, it seems). It's not that he doesn't have some feelings for them, it's just that he doesn't seem to be aware of the normal boundaries between romantic and platonic? I don't know.
--Ah, we're going to get some information on just what the Master Plan Of Doom is, or at least how it started.
--I guess if they've gotta recap, this is a reasonable enough way to do it.
--Now this is an Omniscient Council of Vagueness. Oops, I just went and checked out its entry on TVTropes' Macross Frontier page, spoiling myself for who they actually are. Why do I keep doing that?
--The animation this episode is...not so impressive.
--The reveal that Sheryl's song--with specifically Ranka joining in--came through to Alto in episode 7 is an extremely OT3-ish scene.
--Their song-battle for Alto's love is so as much about each other as it is about Alto. Adorable OT3.
--I admit I am also used to love triangles where the canon is obviously pushing one pairing as the "end canon" from the beginning. With this one it's very clear that they're pushing both pairings equally, and one's preference comes down to personal interpretation.
--This scene is just both ridiculous and adorable at once.
--And apparently whatever Sheryl had was already the terrible infection of doom that I'd read vague spoilers about.
--If this is the "true beginning," why did it take you three-fifths of the show to get there? I mean, come on.
--Oh, man, I hope it doesn't turn out that Cathy secretly wanted to be a pop idol rather than a military officer all along or something dumb like that.
--You know, from the front Ranka's hair looks uninteresting, but from the back it's such a cute style.
--Wow, Alto managed to go ten episodes without revealing that he has a big brother?
--Oh, so not his real brother--I should have figured since they aren't anime-identical.
--We sure get to see Sheryl in her underwear a lot. Not that I'm complaining.
--I am, however, complaining about how dumb she's being this episode. Take your damned medicine!
--Am I imagining things or can you actually see the outline of nipple on Klan's flight suit? That's just ridiculous.
--Why does Cathy have to be naked for the serious discussion of Zentraedi military politics?
--Good lord, Sheryl actually does say that her chest gives people "hopes and dreams."
--Ugh, Alto being pulled between three choices like this...the whole thing pings me in my uncomfortable places. Possibly because they wouldn't be quite such bad choices if he'd actually talk to the people involved, which is a major squick point to me (big plot problems that can be averted just by talking about them openly). But actually, they'd still be pretty bad in this case.
--Heh. The implication that it was hardly a difficult choice for him at all is kind of a nice twist, though.
--Sadly, Sheryl, this is so not about how Alto feels about you. Which I guess is the sad part, that both Sheryl and Ranka are going to interpret it as being all about his Choice Between The Girls, when really it's just about the sky.
--It's embarrassing how easily I am moved to "awww" by scenes of random cute animals.
--The new ED is cuter than it should be.
Episode 12
--Oh, no, not an Omniscient Council of Vagueness.
--Okay, they're rebel Zentraedi, but apparently they know something about the overall plot?
--Oh, duh, that's why there are Japanese subtitles as well as English ones...they're actually speaking Zentran or whatever. Hee.
--Nanase's Ranka/Alto/Sheryl bento box is kind of amazing.
--So Sheryl being sick is Part Of The Plan?
--The cute little creature will probably turn out to be a baby Vajra.
--Aw, Ranka actually is doing something! At great personal risk, too. This makes me happy.
--Alto/Ranka just got a lot more appealing--although I still don't have much interest in any of the main pairings aside from thinking all three could be kind of cute.
--So the whole show is all about rejecting the "destiny" of your "born nature" and instead pursuing your true hopes and dreams? With a side of "this is how opposing peoples can coexist" (as I take it has been the overarching theme of Macross and its SINGING HEALS EVERYTHING from the start)? How...kawaii.
--I see Sheryl is going to have some angst over this.
--Hmm. I wonder if Sheryl is finally admitting to herself just how far her feelings for Alto run? In any case, I'm glad that Alto's choice to go with Sheryl last episode wasn't milked to provide episodes and episodes of sitcom angst. I'm very glad.
Episode 13
--From the glimpses I've taken at TVTropes, this is apparently a crazy badass episode. I just hope you don't need to know too much about the previous Macross shows to appreciate it...the whole "first-generation Macross" thing makes it seem like that could be the case.
--I also know that this is the episode where Grace's eeeevil is revealed. I think? I'm kind of anxious because I really want to see how she pans out as a villainous mastermind.
--Hmm. Sounds like Ranka is more aware than she usually lets on that there's something screwed-up in her past.
--I'm not sure how I feel about Alto going along with the "let's hide Ranka's past trauma from her to protect her" brigade, but it's not like going against the people who've been protecting her emotionally all this time would be an easy decision to make.
--I had a feeling there was something suspicious about those pills. Unless whatever Michel just found is unrelated to the ones Grace was foisting on Sheryl.
--Oh, come on, Ranka needs to be rescued even when she goes to the bathroom?
--Whoa, Grace has implants to make her physically badass as well? I approve.
--That's certainly a convenient place for there to be a picture of Ranka and her family.
--Whenever I get spoiled, I wonder if I'd have figured it out anyway. As it stands, they're laying on the "Brera is actually Ranka's brother" pretty thick, but I don't know how I would have reacted if I didn't already know.
--Uh. How did Ranka wind up in the middle of a Vajra nest?
--Ranka's seiyuu must have torn her throat raw from all the screaming she had to do for the role.
--Well, that was pretty random.
--Taking a break from the nonstop RISING VAJRA ACTION!!! here to ponder the romance. It's interesting that while Alto shows signs of very faintly budding romantic interest around both girls--blushing, awkwardness, tsundere behavior--he seems utterly oblivious to its actual implications and actually rather impatient with them. He doesn't read as completely asexual to me, but he does read as deeply uninterested in the conventional trappings of romance. Sheryl and Ranka, on the other hand, are very much interested in those things (in Sheryl's case, almost more than the actual feelings themselves, but she clearly has those feelings, she's just not too sure what to do with them or how to acknowledge them yet): dates, presents, rivalries with other girls. The way it comes off is that while both girls are clearly interested in Alto for himself, for the way he treats them, their actual pursuit of him is more about each other.
--Back to the action--did Brera just tell Alto that he's "unfit to be near that girl"? Isn't Michel the one with the proper seiyuu for that?
--Grace has tentacle arms? I think I'm in love.
--Hell of a thing to fade to the cutesy old ED on.
Episode 14
--They change the ED often enough; when are we going to get a new OP?
--Bobby continues to be adorable.
--It seems like everybody in this show is crushing on/fighting with romantic entanglements with someone. Sheryl and Ranka on Alto, Luca on Nanase, Michel and Klan with each other, Bobby on Ozma, Ozma and Cathy with each other in an awkward kind of way, whatever Cathy and Leon's actual feelings for each other are, Monica on Captain Wilder...am I missing any so far?
--I'm a little confused on whether or not Alto thinks Ranka is already dead; with his "wait for me, Ranka" is he saying that he's going to die fighting to protect Frontier? Or that he knows she's still alive underground somewhere and he'll come back to get her as soon as possible? The latter seems most likely, but it's a little weird that he'd so easily assume she's still alive even though a huge chunk got carved out of the planet.
--Huh, some actual consequences from using an unproven technology in a dangerous situation? That's nice to see.
--It's a little disappointing to see Sheryl failing and needing to be protected, but it is realistic, admittedly.
--Sparkly naked people in space!
--Oh, I see. Ranka is actually in one of the Vajra motherships.
--Ah, and Alto knows it, okay.
--So Ranka now apparently understands that Vajra Are People Too? The angel-like figures that appeared to her singing the song, possibly? I figured the song was secretly some kind of Vajra thing, but.
--Well, that at least explains where Brera's loyalties are supposed to lie. Not so much what the hell he's actually doing, though.
Episode 15
--Are we supposed to know who it is that Grace is talking to? Because I have no clue.
--Oh no! Her implants have made her freakishly nipple-less!
--Oh, okay, she's fucking around with a Vajra hive mind somehow. I vaguely recall that from spoilers I read (just like I remembered something about Ranka being the "Little Queen"), but not the details.
--It's weird how Alto alternates between treating Sheryl and Ranka as romantic prospects and as sister figures (little-sister in Ranka's case, big-sister in Sheryl's case, it seems). It's not that he doesn't have some feelings for them, it's just that he doesn't seem to be aware of the normal boundaries between romantic and platonic? I don't know.
--Ah, we're going to get some information on just what the Master Plan Of Doom is, or at least how it started.
--I guess if they've gotta recap, this is a reasonable enough way to do it.
--Now this is an Omniscient Council of Vagueness. Oops, I just went and checked out its entry on TVTropes' Macross Frontier page, spoiling myself for who they actually are. Why do I keep doing that?
--The animation this episode is...not so impressive.
--The reveal that Sheryl's song--with specifically Ranka joining in--came through to Alto in episode 7 is an extremely OT3-ish scene.
--Their song-battle for Alto's love is so as much about each other as it is about Alto. Adorable OT3.
--I admit I am also used to love triangles where the canon is obviously pushing one pairing as the "end canon" from the beginning. With this one it's very clear that they're pushing both pairings equally, and one's preference comes down to personal interpretation.
--This scene is just both ridiculous and adorable at once.
--And apparently whatever Sheryl had was already the terrible infection of doom that I'd read vague spoilers about.
--If this is the "true beginning," why did it take you three-fifths of the show to get there? I mean, come on.